Research Spotlight

Image from a recent paper illustrating the modes in k-space that are accessible to a photon within a solar cell. Light-trapping is essentially a random walk around these modes, ultimately leading to escape through the black “hatch” at the top; this is “ergodic” behavior. The plasmonic modes at a metal/semiconductor interface enhance light-trapping in solar cells by increasing the number of modes that are confined within the solar cell.